This invention relates to a belt sander with reducible overall dimension features for processing wood, plastics, marble, metals, and the like.
It is a known fact that in the technical field of wood sanding with sand belts, sanders are employed which fall within two general classes: sanders with a wide sand belt, when the belt spans the full width of the workpiece, and sanders with a narrow sand belt, when the belt width is smaller than the workpiece's, thereby sanding must be performed in several passes. Sanders of the latter type usually comprise a table on which the workpiece is placed, and a beam, overlying the table, which carries the sand belt and a pad which holds the belt close against the workpiece from the back or reverse side of the belt.
Also available are sanders wherein the beam is held stationary and the table traversed below it, and sanders wherein the relative movement of the table and beam is reversed, i.e. it is the beam which is traversed above the table.
Such prior sanders all incur the serious disadvantage that their space requirements are substantial and, especially with small establishments, difficult to meet, also on account of the fact that sanders are seldom operated on a full time basis.